Engineering and optimization of microfluidic platforms for phospholipid-based ocular drug delivery

Ocular drug delivery remains a major challenge due to anatomical, physiological, and pathological barriers that limit drug penetration and retention. Liposomes offer a promising strategy to address these constraints; however, their effectiveness depends on physicochemical properties such as size, surface charge, and interfacial functionality, which govern transport across ocular tissues. Microfluidic technology provides a powerful platform to achieve precise control over these properties through tunable flow conditions and controlled self-assembly, enabling the reproducible fabrication of liposomes with tailored characteristics. In this context, this review establishes a barrier-informed framework that links ocular transport limitations to liposome design requirements and microfluidic processing strategies. In this review, we systematically examine microfluidic mixer geometries, including hydrodynamic flow, Dean-flow-based designs, and chaotic advection mixers, and discuss their impact on liposome formation. Methods for evaluating mixing performance are reviewed alongside the advantages and limitations of different chip materials and fabrication approaches. In addition, strategies for tuning liposome properties, including size, polydispersity, lamellarity, and stability, are critically analyzed in relation to ocular delivery requirements. Finally, emerging directions such as integrated single-step platforms, hybrid and 3D-printed systems, machine learning-assisted process control, solvent-free fabrication, and non-spherical liposomes are discussed. Collectively, this review provides a conceptual and engineering framework for the rational design of microfluidic platforms for liposome-based ocular drug delivery, bridging transport physics with translational applications.